An arts education professor is working to remove barriers to participation and creation in visual arts for students who are blind or have low vision through the Sensory: Please Touch the Art workshop series. Launched in 2016, the workshop program engages teens and adults in visual arts instruction exploring different topics, including expressing emotion and approximate perspective, and allows them to create and exhibit their own artwork.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ VSA Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference, taking place Aug. 7-8 in Atlanta, convenes professionals in arts education and special education to explore equitable access to art-based and arts-integrated instruction for students with disabilities. Attendees will have opportunities to share timely information and knowledge in research, practice, programs and policy to help drive educational improvement for students with disabilities. Early-bird registration rate ends June 30.

Celebrate Autism Awareness Month at the 8th Annual HANDS in Autism® Art Expo! The Annual Art Expo is designed to provide a glimpse into the perspectives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who utilize art as a means of expression given some of the social and communicative challenges that ASD presents. Artists with ASD are encouraged to submit artwork of any medium to be displayed at the event. Artists, classrooms, teams, community groups, and clubs are also invited to submit a special collaborative piece to celebrate autism!

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, is accepting entries for its 2018-19 VSA Emerging Young Artists Program, which showcases the work of emerging young artists with disabilities. Fifteen winning artists will receive cash awards and professional development and have their artwork featured in a year-long, touring exhibition. Deadline to apply: May 31.

By art world standards, I’ve had a fairly typical education; I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Goldsmiths College in London. In my eclectic career, I’ve curated at emerging project spaces, but also overseen the installation of Damien Hirst sculptures.

Seventeen-year-old Keevon Howard has mastered one cardinal rule laid down by his high school art teacher, one that resonates beyond the classroom. “Don’t erase,” his teacher counselled — accept the mistake and weave it into your composition. Coping is a vital life skill, she said, so whatever you put on the paper, that’s what you deal with.

The Kennedy Center’s VSA Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference, taking place Aug. 6-7 in Austin, Texas, allows participants to engage in conversations and learning opportunities focused on equitable access to arts-based and arts-integrated instruction for students with disabilities.

According to curriculum therapists, multi-disciplinary sessions appeal to students’ creativity, are relevant to their everyday lives, and help them acquire important skills—especially students with autism.

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